Discovered in the Ning country of Gansu province during July 2004, the ‘Daidai chijie binzhou cishi shangong sibei’ (the temple stele made by Dadai chijie and Bin state governor Shanlei) was erected in Zhenshi first year (504 A.D) of the Northern Wei dynasty by Shanlei, to memorize the achievement of Emperor Xiaowen. This paper analyzes the governor Shanlei, the ethnic groups distributed within the Bin state (modern Ningxian) during the Northern Wei period, and administrative system mentioned in this stele. Further it proposes that the historical information included in this record, such as religious activities in the Bin state during the Northern Wei and Sui Dynasties, the organization of ethnic groups, local administrative system, Shanlei’s family and calligraphy in this period, was remarkably valuable.
